Si|v3r72

Just a quick note to let you all know that my Z sold on ebay for $8500. I bought it on ebay in 2001 for $7200 and have a total of around $11,000 in it. It's a great car and I'm sad to see it go but such is life.

My '72 240 is a beauty and is for sale. I have a post about it here in Open Discussion pointing to the classified. It's also on ebay currently. My reserve is $8500 and I'm on the east coast. This might not work for the original poster in this thread, bit it is a possibility for spdklz02. Take a look.

It's been quite some time since I've posted here, and I'm sad to say that this post is to point you to my classified ad for my Z. Take a look if you're in the market for a very clean 240Z. I'd like to add my thanks to the many people that frequent this site that have always been so kind and generous. This is a great community and even though I'm selling my Z, I'll always be a Z owner at heart.

Ok I verified that the alternator is externally regulated, both the alternator and the voltage regulator were replaced last summer. So it appears the alternator is not the culpret. I hope to find some time this weekend to start troubleshooting the rest of the circuit.

Ok I'll give it a whirl, but what puzzles me is that the fuse doesn't blow as soon as power is supplied to it, or even at engine idle speed. It seems like it only blows after I increase the engine's rpm's. edit: BK240, I haven't touched the alternator since it was installed. How do I tell if it's internally or externally regulated?

the saga continues. so far my battery has completely drained twice in the last week. the first thing anyone looks at is the alternator, and since mine is fairly recently installed (new reman), I took it to the shop that installed it to test it. During testing, we verified two things: 1) the alternator is in good working order, and 2) w/o the Ign fuse, the alternator is cut off and the car is running directly from the battery. This explains why my battery has been dying, but it doesn't solve my problem yet. the shop is willing to look at each component on that fuse and try to find the short (with the assistance of the wiring diagram), so hopefully i'll have an answer soon. edit: Keith, I may just take you up on your harness offer. I have the feeling sooner or later I'm going to need one. Let me know if and when you get to it, if it's worth salvaging.

I'm sorry Keith, I know I'm not doing 240Z ownership any justice with this post, but I need to get this worked out. If it's as simple as a new starter, I'm exstatic. Sorry for not reading that in your first post.

now that you mention corrosion... when my battery had come out of the hold-down and was on it's side, battery acid leaked onto the starter. The bolts are now corroded and the starter looks like crap. Could that corroded hardware be the culprit?

Considering what my car's electrical system has been through, and the trouble I am having now, should I be considering replacing the dash harness altogether? And if so, how hard is a good one to locate? Does anyone have a good source for these?

Update on battery situation: I took the battery to Pep-Boys to have it tested. BTW this battery is an Energizer, Group 75/86DT, 700/875CCA. The battery tested fine, just drained, so they charged it and ok-ed it. While I waited for it to charge I checked out the group 24 batteries. I had the salesman measure the dimensions, and I was surprised to find it is even bigger than the one I have. So I took my battery home, made sure it was secure in the tray, installed terminal covers, and fired the car up. It ran fine, so I installed a new 20A fuse in the Ign slot, and sure enough it blew after a few minutes on the road. My questions are: 1) How do I tell if the fusible link is good or bad? I looked at the one in line with the battery and had no idea what to look for. Apart from obvious defects like burns, or a broken piece, I couldn't see anything wrong. 2) Is this size/type of battery going to cause problems?

Hi Keith, nice to talk to you again. Been very busy for quite a while now, trying not to let my Z run my life but it's not easy . There's always something... I was just looking over the parts list at MidwestZ and I thought, "Damn, I could drop some serious cash here". Thanks to you guys for some good advice. I'll try to get this straightened out this weekend. I need to finish by Sunday morning though, cuz Sunday afternoon has [sitting on my arse drinking beer and watching golf] written all over it.

Hello all. Some of you may recall I had some pretty big electrical problems last year with my 72 240. Something caused a total electrical meltdown, resulting in a burnt up wiring harness, dead battery, dead amp gauge, dead alternator, and bad voltage regulator (among other things). Well I got past all that and things had been going well until recently. A few weeks ago, I was doing routine maintenance, and noticed that my battery was somewhat out of position. So I undid the hold-down, and refastened it, then moved on. Shortly after that, I started having trouble with the Ign fuse blowing. Upon replacement, I would lose the fuse shortly thereafter. So I opened the hood, and low and behold, there's the battery laying on it's side, with the ground wire ripped off, acid leaking out. I took care of this problem, replaced the battery hold-down (which obviously was crappy), refilled and charged the battery, and replaced the fuse. Well the fuse still blew. Now not only do I have a problem with a possible short somewhere, but I think the battery is dead too (I charged it and it died). So my first question is, what is the recommended replacement battery for my stock 1972 240Z? My Z has no a/c, and the only extra electric device is a cd changer, so the power requirements aren't heavy. Secondly, how do I find out why I keep blowing the Ign fuse? Unfortunately I'm pretty clueless about electrical stuff, but if I don't have to bring it back to the shop I'd rather not. They have enough of my money already. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Much clearer thank you. Your english is fine, I'm just thick-headed. I think I may have the problem you've described, and although I do have the ZTherapy video, I've been too chicken to take my carb apart. Sounds like a good winter project for when the car is off the road.

Could you clarify this please? My front carb has always been oily on the bottom and I don't really understand what you said.

Last week I failed inspection at our DMV. They failed me for emmissions the first time through, then in the recheck lane (I tried leaning out my carbs and going back through), they failed me for emmissions AND sound. Here's my results: 1st try: HC (ppm): 636 @ idle, limit 600 CO %: 7.58 @ idle, limit 6% For the first run, I was very nearly out of gas, so I went to the gas station, put in one gallon, and added a bottle of STP gas treatment (which I now realize was a bad move), then leaned out my carbs by one turn, went to get rechecked, and got these results: HC (ppm): 734 @ idle, limit 600 CO %: 3.92 @ idle, limit 6% sound: 96.7db @ 2500rpm, limit 96.5db . So I filled the tank, added a bottle of emmissions stop, and I'm currently in the process of running through the tank completely before I try again. I'm hoping that the combination of the emmissions stop and leaning out the carbs will pass me. As for sound, I failed by 0.2db (which is bullpoopy if you ask me) so on the recheck when he tells me to run the engine at 2500rpm I'm going to go up to 2300 or so, hoping that it won't be as loud. I understand the reason for having laws against loud cars, but personally I feel that my car is so small that I need the sound to help people realize I am there, something like the train of thought that motorcyclists use. Any thoughts?

I did take the car back this afternoon and they were glad to help. They tested the battery output and found that the new voltage regulator was putting out over 15 volts, so they put the old one back in and it was lower. They ordered another new one on the spot (different manufacturer) and will test it tomorrow. Dunno if this will solve the problem but at least they are trying.

My 240 just came out of the shop after I had a major electrical malfunction. All told, the dash wiring harness, alternator, voltage regulator, battery, and ampmeter/fuel gauge were replaced, along with other misc parts. I noticed as I was driving it home, that the needle on the amp gauge was jumping around a lot, from 0 in the middle to almost +60 on the right. It didn't sit still very much at all. Also, I noticed that my old amp gauge (which fried) went from -45 to +45, and the replacement that I bought from ZBarn goes from -60 to +60. Is that a problem, and what might be causing my needle to be so jumpy?

Ok thanks guys. I think I'll steer clear of the off year stuff.

I guess I'd have to see one in real life to be convinced, but without seeing I don't like the idea. In my mind I have this image of a huge bulky dash. And I suppose it's the purist in me, but a few small cracks in the dash are like dings or scratches in a pickup truck - they give it character.

Jeff, the part you need is the one I described (not the piece that goes all the way around the door). The part numbers are from the latest catalogs. Both listed @ $14.95 EA, but MSA told me over the phone they wated $18.95. I did not call VB. Also, if you order from MSA, be sure to have them specify wether or not the seal has rivet holes. I ordered both left and right with rivets, and neither seal had holes for rivets. I figured they had to be glued anyway so the lack of holes didn't matter. And btw, you can call me Tom. My nick is stupid .

Are you referring to the front door seal? I just replaced both of mine at the beginning of the season, and I got them from MSA, part numbers 34-1103 (left) and 34-1104 (right), and 40-3969 for the clips. Also, in case you need it, the VB part numbers are 59-814 (left) and 59-815 (right), and 79-660 for the clips. I just called MSA, and they said they should have their front door seals back in stock tomorrow.